Hot-Wiring My Way to You
by congressmanmabel
Summary: Wendy tells Dipper and Mabel that she'll miss them once the summer ends, but she has a way to visit them during the school year.
1. Chapter 1

Business was unusually slow at the Mystery Shack and its gift shop. For Wendy Corduroy, having nothing to do was a frustrating issue. The young slacker would give anything to leave her position and goof around with her friends, but at the end of the day her weekly paycheck and avoiding work at her cousin's logging camp was more important to her. Although it didn't make her job as cashier any easier.

Leaning over on the counter, she glanced around the store in search of something interesting to look at. She already read through the most recent issue of _Avoid Eye-Contact Monthly_ and she needed to at least give off the appearance that she was working. Among the abundance of cheaply made merchandise (some of which were modeled after Stan Pines, no doubt boosting the conman's ego), she spotted the Pines Family eagerly chatting amongst themselves.

"Remember that time I fought off fifty zombies to save you kids?" The old conman recalled in an unusually enthusiastic tone. His eager face dropped into a melancholic expression as he continued to speak."So maybe you can help me out by taking out the trash for once, huh?"

Dipper and Mabel looked at each other in bewilderment at their Grunkle's request.

"Nice try Grunkle Stan." The boy deadpanned. "You may be a professional shyster, but you cannot pull off a decent 'puppy face' to save your life."

"Yeah, and there's no time to talk about the trash! Not when we have more Gemulets to collect!" Mabel posed in dramatic fashion, raising her fist in the air.

Unbeknownst to the young twins, Wendy smiled at them with fondness. Back in early June, the Corduroy girl thought that her summer vacation was going to be super boring working at the Mystery Shack. But once she crossed paths with Dipper and Mabel Pines, she immediately hit it off with the two.

Wendy and Dipper forged a special kind of bond, something beyond a regular friendship. The two goofed around together, whether they were pulling pranks on other people, performing stupid stunts on the golf cart or binge-watching cheesy horror movies. Despite gently letting him down after professing his crush on her, there was no hard feelings and the two continued to hang out with each other. The two have experienced many life-threatening situations together, but they managed to survive the weirdness Gravity Falls had thrown at them and their friendship grew stronger as well. Mabel was the little sister Wendy never had, but always wanted. She enjoyed listening to what the energetic girl had to say as well as engaging in random dance parties in the gift shop. They even shared an important moment during their encounter with the Society of the Blind Eye. Even as they both had memories they wanted to forget, it was still better to have their bad experiences so they could learn from them.

Dipper and Mabel were definitely the coolest people Wendy had known, bar none. The redhead did not have any friends outside of the small group of teens she chilled with on the occasion. But the Pines twins had something special that set them apart from her peers. That being said, Wendy was definitely going to miss their presence once they leave Gravity Falls at the end of the summer. Sure she was already dreading the day she would have to go back to high school where she would have to survive challenging classes, teachers mispronouncing her last name and being at the bottom of her grade's social ladder. But he thought of not seeing the twins again until next summer was a somber reality she would inevitably have to live with during the school year.

Not wanting her bummer musings to cloud her mind, Wendy looked back at the eager kids as they laughed with each other. They must be having a good time on their adventure, though she hoped that this quest was not as life-threatening as their previous ones. She wished that she could join the kids, but work got in the way of spending time with her favorite twins.

Wendy soon heard two pairs of feet running towards the counter. She forced the stress that festered inside her mind on the back burner as she put up her laid-back facade for the Pines kids.

"Hey Wendy!" Dipper and Mabel greeted happily in near unison.

"'Sup you guys?" Wendy replied with a smile.

"We're on the hunt for legendary gnome Gemulets!" Mabel exclaimed.

"And we've been retrieving some lost items for our friends." Dipper added. "Did you know that Robbie writes ridiculously emo songs about hormones?"

"I was unaware of that until now." Wendy chuckled. "Sounds like you guys are having a blast." The teen's smile slightly faltered at the thought of not participating on their adventure due to her job.

Her struggle to uphold her affront was immediately detected by Dipper. "You look like something's eating you up," The boy stated concernedly. "Well figuratively speaking anyway."

Wendy looked at the twins and sighed wistfully. "I have somethin' to confess: I'm gonna miss you kids when the summer is over. I might just have to drive down and visit you in California."

"Oh Wendy…" Mabel responded worriedly as she looked up to her friend with soulful brown eyes. "We'll miss you too."

"Same here. But if it helps, we could always stay in contact by phone or email." He reasoned hopefully.

Wendy gave a sad smile at their consolation. It was going to be tough once they leave, but that didn't mean that they can't still be friends. Not wanting to see her friends feel upset, she offered a hopeful bit of news. "But on the bright side, Grunkle Stan's been teaching me to hotwire cars. Don't tell my dad."

Dipper immediately responded with their secret message, moving his finger across his lips and flicking away the imaginary key. Wendy smiled at Dipper remembering their unspoken code.

"You think Grunkle Stan would teach us how to do that when we're older?" Mabel asked her brother.

"Considering how Stan's showed us the ins and outs of his illegal hobbies, I wouldn't be surprised if he taught us that before we're of age to drive." Dipper spoke.

"What about the trash?" Stan bellowed. "I need that garbage thrown out before I give you knuckleheads a personal lesson on how to hot-wire a car!"

"Maybe later Grunkle Stan!" Mabel responded before she sprinted towards the exit.

Dipper looked over to Wendy. "I gotta get going. I'll see you soon Wendy!"

"Have fun!" She hollered playfully at the twins.

Within seconds Dipper and Mabel bolted out of the gift shop before their great uncle could say another word.

Stan walked over toward the counter. "Can you believe these two, goin' on their crazy monster hunts and such?"

Wendy looked outside the window, noting the excited twins running into the woods. She smiled fondly. "I can believe it." She then turned over to her boss to ask him a serious inquiry.

"Can you give me a couple more hot-wiring lessons before the summer's up?"

* * *

 **A/N:** This fic is based on a scene from the Legend of the Gnome Gemulets game in which Wendy sadly tells Dipper and Mabel that she'll miss them after the summer is over. She also tells them that Grunkle Stan had been teaching her how to hot wire a car. So she applies all this knowledge when she plans on making a weekend visit to Piedmont, California to see the twins during the fall.

This fic is a two shot, and I am currently working on the second and final chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

Homecoming Weekend was on its way and all of Gravity Falls High was hyped. Guys and girls chatted about the first football game of the school year as well as the homecoming dance. Wendy Corduroy was not one of those people. Heck, she wasn't even attending school that Friday.

She was at the Mystery Shack instead, focusing on hot-wiring the truck Soos loaned her. She did not give any cares for Homecoming. The real party was located in California and she was going to give Dipper and Mabel Pines the best damn weekend in a long time.

The only thing getting in her way was the truck's lack of cooperation.

"Oh come on you dumb thing, get yourself together!" Wendy barked at the dashboard.

She looked at the wires in her hands. She should be seeing the dashboard lights illuminating by now. She had to keep trying.

Fiddleford McGucket, the recent millionaire, part-time inventor and now part-time handyman for the Shack noticed Wendy's struggle with the truck.

"Ya need any help Miss Corduroy?" The southern inventor politely asked.

Wendy temporarily stopped her attempts at sparking the engine wire and looked over at the kind man. "I appreciate the offer man, but I just have to remember Stan's pointers on hot-wiring."

"Alrighty, but if ya need anythin' just give me a holler."

"Will do Mr. McG." Wendy replied with a nod.

Despite the car troubles, Wendy was grateful for Soos's leniency on the truck as he allowed her to borrow his old truck whenever she wanted. The current manager of the Mystery Shack had already purchased a new vehicle for business purposes, proudly dubbed The Mystery Mobile, from the profits he had raked in from the tourist trap.

As the teen continued to work on hotwiring the car, Soos finished up another round of tours in front of the Mystery Shack.

"Come back to the Mystery Shack soon! And remember, we put the 'fun' in 'no refunds'!" Soos announced as he attempted to emulate the 'Mr. Mystery' persona.

Once the tourists dispersed, Soos dropped out of character and turned toward Melody, his girlfriend and assistant manager of the tourist trap. "You think it went well Melody? I'm still trying to imitate Mr. Pines, but I'm not sure if it's working."

"I'd say you were on your A-game Soos." Melody reassured him as he softly punched his forearm. Soos grinned at his girlfriend's support and her affectionate gesture. The young couple looked out at the front yard and noticed Wendy having some difficulties with the car.

"Do you need any assistance Wendy?" Melody offered.

"Nah, I'm good Mel." Wendy responded. "I'm almost done hot-wiring this thing-"

Once the engine began to pur, Wendy reveled her victory. She revved up the engine a few times to ensure that the truck wouldn't stall out. Once the truck continued to run, Wendy pumped her fists in the air and exclaimed, "Finally!"

The teen smiled at the roaring engine, all of her efforts on starting the truck had finally paid off.

"Oh, dude! I just remembered," Soos mumbled, reaching into his pocket and retrieving his car keys. He sprinted towards the old truck and personally handed his keys to Wendy.

"You probably need these dawg." Soos explained. The manager grabbed his wallet from his pants pocket and handed the teen a few hundred dollars. "Here's some emergency cash for gas and stuff. And if you're in any trouble, don't hesitate to call me dude."

"Don't worry Soos, I'll call you if anything gets outta hand." Wendy informed her older colleague. "Thanks for everything man."

"No problem." The manager replied. "Oh, and tell Dipper and Mabel I said hi!"

"Will do Soos." Wendy said with a nod. She adjusted her blue pine tree cap and stepped on the accelerator. As she made her exit, Soos, Melody and Fiddleford bid the redhead farewell.

"Have fun dude!"

"Have a safe trip!"

"Don't do anythin' that would git the cops ta follow ya!"

* * *

Wendy kept her hands gripped on the steering wheel as she cruised down the Californian highway.

She had been on the road for over eight hours now. Driving from Oregon and down California was exhausting for the teen. Wendy was initially stressed over having to drive for so long, but after going over the map days before the trip, the redhead had a clear sense of direction.

Wendy drove on the I-5 for almost 300 miles before she got onto I-505 South. Afterwards she traveled down I-80 West for about an hour before continuing onto I-580 East. With the exception of stopping at the gas station for food and bathroom breaks, Wendy had kept to the highways.

Running on a half-amount of fuel, and running on her umpteenth can of Pitt Cola, Wendy kept her eyes on the road, waiting for the exit sign for Piedmont. She needed to keep herself awake and take the correct path off the highway.

"Come on, come on…" She muttered to herself.

The teen soon noticed the upcoming exit sign for Piedmont was only a half-mile from where she was.

"Yes!" Wendy cheered. She clicked on the right turn signal and veered over towards the exit lane.

"Piedmont, here I come!"

* * *

Over at the Pines residence, Dipper and Mabel were relaxing in the living room. Mabel sprawled herself over the couch as her eyes were glued to the mediocre teen drama on television. Dipper, on the other hand, focused his attention on sketching in his new journal.

 _Ding-dong_

The two thirteen-year-olds sprang up at the sound of the doorbell.

"I wonder who would visit us this late in the evening?" Dipper mused aloud.

"There's only one way to find out." Mabel declared.

The teenage twins approached the front door. Dipper reached for the knob and carefully opened the door. What they didn't expect was to see a familiar, flannel-clad teen from rural Oregon.

"Wendy?!" They exclaimed in unison, their jaws dropping at the sight of their friend.

"'Sup you guys?" She asked casually as she tipped the bill of her pine tree hat. The teen was immediately tackled into a hug by her younger friends. Her cool affront melted away when she returned the embrace, laughing jovially with her dear friends.

"Wendy, you're actually here!" Dipper exclaimed.

"Ohmygosh Wendy it's so good to see you again!" Mabel shouted with excitement.

"I'm super happy to see you dorks too!" Wendy replied, playfully ruffling their heads.

Once the three released each other from their hug, Dipper moved himself and Mabel over sideways. "Come inside," Dipper welcomed his older friend. "So how the heck did you come down here?"

"It wasn't easy," Wendy explained. "All I did was hotwire a truck and take an eight-hour road trip across two states."

"You must be super exhausted from all that driving."

"A little," Wendy admitted. "But seeing you two again was well worth the long haul."

"I have to show you all of my scrapbooks!" Mabel cheered.

"Oh! There's something I wanna show you as well." Dipper quickly added before heading up the stairs. "You can chill out on the couch if you like."

"Thanks man." Wendy said.

The redhead plopped down on the pink sofa. She closed her eyes and sighed contentedly as she finally relaxed after spending most of the day behind the wheel. When Wendy opened her eyes, they wandered around the cozy living room. A cluster of framed photographs hung on the wall immediately captured her attention. Forcing herself up from her lying position, she waltzed across the room to inspect the photographs. Wendy's eyes were focused on the multitude of cute pictures of Dipper and Mabel during their different stages of childhood. Their first day of kindergarten, the kids going apple-picking, them posing by the Christmas tree and one by the Menorah, the two sitting on a playground slide, Mabel posing with a mini-golf club, Dipper holding up his Spelling Bee medal.

The redhead was engrossed with studying the twins' past that she almost didn't hear their footsteps as they descended the stairs.

"Trying to find some cute pictures of us to use as blackmail I see." Dipper quipped as he observed the teen looking through the photographs on the wall.

"Well you guys caught me," Wendy played along as she held her hands up in the air. "guilty as charged."

"If you want the more hardcore stuff, I've got what you're looking for." Mabel declared. She took one of her scrapbooks and opened it up onto a random page. There were two photographs of the twins from when they were four years old. The one on the left was when the twins visited a shopping mall Santa. While Mabel smiled for the camera, Dipper eagerly ripped off the fake beard from the phony St. Nick, who could only display his shock at being exposed by the youngster. The picture on the right was from their trip to Disneyland, with the twins posing with Mickey Mouse. Dipper, who sported his mouse ear hat, gave a toothy grin while Mabel attempted to take a bite off of the famous mascot's giant nose as if it was a giant jelly bean.

Wendy chuckled at the humorous photographs. Seeing the twins in more goofier circumstances reminded her of the night at the dance, specifically when she showed Dipper a picture from her preteen years, back when she had pigtails and braces.

"We were much weirder kids when we younger." Dipper confessed as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I can relate." Wendy reassured him. "Living with a crazy lumberjack dad and three rowdy younger brothers is nothing normal either." She soon noticed the younger boy holding a pristine picture frame. "So what was it that you wanted to show me man?"

"Oh! Just a little something I've been keeping that's been giving me motivation during my bad days." Dipper brought the frame up to Wendy, Dipper had kept the See You Next Summer note safe and secure inside the picture frame.

She was touched how Dipper kept the note with her and everyone's signatures.

"That's sweet of you man." Wendy said elatedly as she gave him a sincere smile. The thirteen-year-old returned a sweet smile of his own, feeling glad that he was able to make his friend happy.

"So Wendy, you wanna look through my scrapbook pics while watching some romantic teen dramas?" Mabel asked.

"And play some video games soon afterwards?" Dipper added.

"Of course you guys!" Wendy responded with a grin.

The twins tugged Wendy as they raced towards the living room, all of them eager for their weekend of fun.


End file.
